﻿﻿﻿Situated among the rolling hills along the West bank of the Missouri River, the city was named after the Omaha tribe, which means "Dwellers on the bluff," one of the many local Native American groups that lived in the area since the 1600s. Founded on July 4, 1854, Omaha played a pivotal role in the Westward migration of the 1800s and in the development of the transcontinental railroad, which allowed the city to boom with the resulting cattle stockyards and other trade.﻿